1973–74 Montreal Canadiens season

1973–74 Montreal Canadiens
Division2nd East
1973–74 record45–24–9
Goals for293
Goals against240
Team information
General managerSam Pollock
CoachScotty Bowman
CaptainHenri Richard
Alternate captainsYvan Cournoyer
Frank Mahovlich
ArenaMontreal Forum
Team leaders
GoalsYvan Cournoyer (40)
AssistsFrank Mahovlich (49)
PointsFrank Mahovlich (80)
Penalty minutesPete Mahovlich (122)
WinsWayne Thomas (23)
Goals against averageWayne Thomas (2.76)

The 1973–74 Montreal Canadiens season was the 65th season in team history. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs, losing in the first round to the New York Rangers.

Off-season

Ken Dryden shocked the hockey world as he sat out the entire 1973–74 season. He had won a Vezina Trophy and helped lead Canada past Russia in the dramatic Hockey Summit of 1972. Despite his bargaining power, most players in Dryden's position would have simply accepted what the Canadiens were giving him. Dryden bolted training camp, while general manager Sam Pollock fumed.[1]

Regular season

Wayne Thomas replaced Dryden as the starting goaltender and appeared in 42 games.[2] Frank Mahovlich led the team in scoring with 80 points, while Yvan Cournoyer led the team in goals with 40.

Final standings

East Division[3]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Boston Bruins 78 52 17 9 349 221 +128 113
2 Montreal Canadiens 78 45 24 9 293 240 +53 99
3 New York Rangers 78 40 24 14 300 251 +49 94
4 Toronto Maple Leafs 78 35 27 16 274 230 +44 86
5 Buffalo Sabres 78 32 34 12 242 250 −8 76
6 Detroit Red Wings 78 29 39 10 255 319 −64 68
7 Vancouver Canucks 78 24 43 11 224 296 −72 59
8 New York Islanders 78 19 41 18 182 247 −65 56

Record vs. opponents


Playoffs

The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs in second place, setting up a match-up with the third-place New York Rangers. The Rangers defeated the Canadiens twice at the Forum to win the series four games to two. Rookie goaltender Michel Larocque played all six games for the Canadiens.

Schedule and results

Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 10, 1973 5–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 1–0–0
2 W October 13, 1973 4–3 Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 2–0–0
3 L October 17, 1973 3–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 2–1–0
4 L October 20, 1973 2–4 Atlanta Flames (1973–74) 2–2–0
5 W October 21, 1973 3–2 @ New York Rangers (1973–74) 3–2–0
6 W October 24, 1973 3–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 4–2–0
7 W October 25, 1973 4–0 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 5–2–0
8 W October 27, 1973 4–2 Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 6–2–0
9 T October 31, 1973 1–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 6–2–1
10 W November 3, 1973 6–2 California Golden Seals (1973–74) 7–2–1
11 T November 4, 1973 1–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 7–2–2
12 W November 7, 1973 4–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 8–2–2
13 L November 8, 1973 1–2 @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) 8–3–2
14 L November 10, 1973 0–5 St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 8–4–2
15 L November 14, 1973 3–4 Boston Bruins (1973–74) 8–5–2
16 W November 17, 1973 8–5 Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 9–5–2
17 L November 18, 1973 4–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 9–6–2
18 W November 21, 1973 4–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 10–6–2
19 W November 24, 1973 5–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 11–6–2
20 W November 25, 1973 6–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 12–6–2
21 W November 28, 1973 5–3 Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 13–6–2
22 L December 1, 1973 0–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 13–7–2
23 W December 2, 1973 3–1 @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) 14–7–2
24 W December 6, 1973 4–2 @ New York Islanders (1973–74) 15–7–2
25 W December 8, 1973 3–1 New York Islanders (1973–74) 16–7–2
26 T December 11, 1973 2–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 16–7–3
27 T December 14, 1973 2–2 @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) 16–7–4
28 W December 15, 1973 6–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 17–7–4
29 W December 18, 1973 4–1 California Golden Seals (1973–74) 18–7–4
30 T December 20, 1973 2–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 18–7–5
31 W December 22, 1973 7–1 Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 19–7–5
32 T December 23, 1973 1–1 @ New York Islanders (1973–74) 19–7–6
33 L December 26, 1973 2–9 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 19–8–6
34 W December 29, 1973 7–1 New York Rangers (1973–74) 20–8–6
35 L January 2, 1974 4–8 @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 20–9–6
36 W January 5, 1974 5–3 Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 21–9–6
37 W January 7, 1974 2–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 22–9–6
38 W January 10, 1974 8–3 New York Islanders (1973–74) 23–9–6
39 W January 12, 1974 7–3 @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) 24–9–6
40 L January 15, 1974 1–2 Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 24–10–6
41 W January 17, 1974 6–1 Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 25–10–6
42 L January 19, 1974 0–8 Boston Bruins (1973–74) 25–11–6
43 W January 20, 1974 3–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 26–11–6
44 W January 23, 1974 4–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 27–11–6
45 W January 24, 1974 4–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 28–11–6
46 W January 26, 1974 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 29–11–6
47 L February 1, 1974 3–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) 29–12–6
48 W February 3, 1974 4–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 30–12–6
49 W February 5, 1974 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 31–12–6
50 L February 6, 1974 3–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 31–13–6
51 W February 9, 1974 7–2 New York Rangers (1973–74) 32–13–6
52 L February 10, 1974 1–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 32–14–6
53 L February 13, 1974 2–3 Atlanta Flames (1973–74) 32–15–6
54 W February 15, 1974 9–4 Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 33–15–6
55 T February 17, 1974 2–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 33–15–7
56 L February 19, 1974 3–5 @ New York Islanders (1973–74) 33–16–7
57 W February 21, 1974 5–2 Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 34–16–7
58 T February 23, 1974 4–4 Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 34–16–8
59 W February 24, 1974 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 35–16–8
60 W February 26, 1974 6–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) 36–16–8
61 W February 28, 1974 7–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 37–16–8
62 L March 2, 1974 3–4 California Golden Seals (1973–74) 37–17–8
63 L March 3, 1974 0–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 37–18–8
64 L March 6, 1974 2–9 @ New York Rangers (1973–74) 37–19–8
65 W March 9, 1974 4–2 New York Rangers (1973–74) 38–19–8
66 W March 10, 1974 5–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 39–19–8
67 T March 13, 1974 3–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 39–19–9
68 L March 16, 1974 1–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 39–20–9
69 W March 17, 1974 4–2 New York Islanders (1973–74) 40–20–9
70 L March 20, 1974 6–7 Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 40–21–9
71 W March 23, 1974 7–3 St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 41–21–9
72 L March 24, 1974 3–6 @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) 41–22–9
73 W March 26, 1974 4–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 42–22–9
74 W March 29, 1974 4–3 @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) 43–22–9
75 W March 30, 1974 5–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 44–22–9
76 L April 3, 1974 3–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 44–23–9
77 W April 6, 1974 6–2 Boston Bruins (1973–74) 45–23–9
78 L April 7, 1974 4–6 @ New York Rangers (1973–74) 45–24–9

[5]

Playoffs

  • 4/10/1974 New York Rangers 1–4
  • 4/11/1974 New York Rangers 4–1
  • 4/13/1974 at New York Rangers 4–2
  • 4/14/1974 at New York Rangers 4–6
  • 4/16/1974 New York Rangers 2–3
  • 4/18/1974 at New York Rangers 2–5

[6]

Awards and records

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Frank Mahovlich LW 71 31 49 80 47 16 8 2 3
Yvan Cournoyer RW 67 40 33 73 18 16 10 0 9
Pete Mahovlich C 78 36 37 73 122 42 7 4 7
Jacques Lemaire C 66 29 38 67 10 4 10 0 7
Guy Lafleur RW 73 21 35 56 29 10 3 1 2
Henri Richard C 75 19 36 55 28 7 1 0 3
Chuck Lefley LW 74 23 31 54 34 9 1 2 2
Guy Lapointe D 71 13 40 53 63 12 5 1 2
Steve Shutt LW 70 15 20 35 17 19 3 0 1
Murray Wilson LW 72 17 14 31 26 4 0 0 4
Larry Robinson D 78 6 20 26 66 32 0 0 1
Claude Larose RW 39 17 7 24 52 11 1 0 1
Jim Roberts D/RW 67 8 16 24 39 27 0 1 2
Serge Savard D 67 4 14 18 49 20 1 0 1
Yvon Lambert LW 60 6 10 16 42 5 0 0 0
Pierre Bouchard D 60 1 14 15 25 8 0 0 0
Jacques Laperriere D 42 2 10 12 14 15 0 1 0
Dave Gardner C 31 1 10 11 2 4 0 0 0
Bob Gainey LW 66 3 7 10 34 −9 0 0 0
John Van Boxmeer D 20 1 4 5 18 −3 1 0 0
Michel Larocque G 27 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
Wayne Thomas G 42 0 2 2 6 0 0 0 0
Rick Wilson D 21 0 2 2 6 8 0 0 0
Glenn Goldup RW 6 0 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0
Michel Plasse G 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Wayne Thomas 2410 42 23 12 5 111 2.76 1
Michel Larocque 1431 27 15 8 2 69 2.89 0
Michel Plasse 839 15 7 4 2 57 4.08 0
Team: 4680 78 45 24 9 237 3.04 1

Playoffs

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Steve Shutt LW 6 5 3 8 9 1 0 0
Yvan Cournoyer RW 6 5 2 7 2 0 0 2
Henri Richard C 6 2 2 4 2 0 0 0
Jacques Lemaire C 6 0 4 4 2 0 0 0
Pete Mahovlich C 6 2 1 3 4 1 0 0
Frank Mahovlich LW 6 1 2 3 0 0 0 0
Serge Savard D 6 1 1 2 4 0 0 0
Pierre Bouchard D 6 0 2 2 4 0 0 0
Guy Lapointe D 6 0 2 2 4 0 0 0
Michel Larocque G 6 0 2 2 0 0 0 0
Claude Larose RW 5 0 2 2 11 0 0 0
Murray Wilson LW 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 0
Guy Lafleur RW 6 0 1 1 4 0 0 0
Chuck Lefley LW 6 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Larry Robinson D 6 0 1 1 26 0 0 0
Bob Gainey LW 6 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
Yvon Lambert LW 5 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
Jim Roberts D/RW 6 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
John Van Boxmeer D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Michel Larocque 364 6 2 4 18 2.97 0
Team: 364 6 2 4 18 2.97 0

[7]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

Draft picks

See also: 1973 NHL Amateur Draft
Round # Player Position Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
1 8 Bob Gainey Left wing  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA)
2 17 Glenn Goldup Right wing  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
2 22 Peter Marrin Centre  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
2 32 Ron Andruff Centre  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
3 37 Ed Humphreys Goaltender  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
4 56 Alan Hangsleben Defence  United States University of North Dakota (NCAA)
4 64 Richard Latulippe Centre  Canada Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
5 80 Gerard Gibbons Defence  Canada St. Mary's University (CIAU)
6 96 Denis Patry Right wing  Canada Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL)
7 112 Michel Belisle Centre  Canada Montreal Junior Canadiens (QMJHL)
8 128 Mario Desjardins Left wing  Canada Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
9 143 Bob Wright Right wing  Canada Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJAHL)
10 158 Alain Labrecque Centre  Canada Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
11 166 Gord Halliday Right wing  Canada University of Pennsylvania (NCAA)
12 167 Cap Raeder Goaltender  United States University of New Hampshire (NCAA)
13 168 Louis Chiasson Centre  Canada Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)

See also

Citations

  1. ^ "McGill Athletics". Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
  2. ^ "Wayne Thomas 1972-74".
  3. ^ "1973–1974 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  4. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "1973–74 Montreal Canadiens Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  6. ^ "Montreal Canadiens 1973-74 Game Log and Scores". Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
  7. ^ "1973-74 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.

References